DURHAM, N.H.
– Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md.) of the
field hockey team and Nick Sorkin (Rockville, Md.)
of the men’s ice hockey team are featured in this week's Service Credit
Union Student-Athlete Spotlight. This information and more can
be found in the Wildcat Weekly Roundup.

STUDENT-ATHLETE
SPOTLIGHT

Hayley Rausch, field
hockey

Hayley, a
senior forward from Severna Park, Maryland, was named Most
Outstanding Player of the 2011 America East Field Hockey
Championship following a seven-point effort (three goals, one
assist) that led UNH to the tournament title with wins against the
University at Albany (1-0 in the semifinal) and Boston University
(4-2 in the title game).

She scored
the only goal of the game vs. Albany with 2:46 remaining in
regulation. Against BU, Hayley gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead 2:13
into the game, assisted on the goal that gave the ‘Cats a
lead (2-1) they would not relinquish at 22:21 and capped the game
scoring at 52:44. That last tally marked Hayley’s
50th career goal and also catapulted her to the top of
the program’s single-season points leaderboard at 58; the
previous benchmark of 57 had stood since 1986 (Karen Geromini). She
also climbed to No. 2 on UNH’s list of single-season
superlatives with her 25th goal.

Hayley was
named to the America East All-Conference First Team prior to the
tournament and entered the tourney ranked No. 7 in the nation in
points per game and No. 6 in goals per game.

Through 21
games, she has 25 goals and eight assists for 58 points to lead the
team in both goals and points, and rank third in assists. Hayley is
tied for the team lead in game-winning goals (six), has a team-best
.347 shooting percentage and is second in shots (72). She has
tallied a point in 20 of 21 games with a goal in 17 games. Hayley
scored a career-high three goals in back-to-back games against
Brown University and Providence College to become the first player
since Geromini in 1986 to score three goals in consecutive
games.

In 77
career games, Hayley has recorded 50 goals and 32 assists for 132
points. On New Hampshire’s career leaderboard, she is third
in both points and assists as well as fourth in goals.

Nick Sorkin, men’s
ice hockey

Nick, a
sophomore forward from Rockville, Maryland, sparked the UNH
men’s ice hockey team to Hockey East victories last week
against the University of Massachusetts (7-3 on Nov. 4) and
20th-ranked University of Maine (3-2 on Nov. 5). He
tallied two assists against UMass and then a goal and an assist vs.
Maine to extend his point-scoring streak to seven games.

Nick has
recorded 11 points (five goals, six assists) during his current
seven-game point-scoring streak to already exceed his rookie totals
from a year ago (3g, 2a). He set up the team’s second and
sixth goals vs. UMass to record a personal best of two assists.
Nick established his career high of two points (1g, 1a) Oct. 21 at
St. Cloud State University, then matched that the following night
vs. SCSU with his first career multiple-goal game and again in both
games last weekend.

Through
nine games, Nick leads the team in goals (five), assists (six),
points (11) and shooting percentage (.294). He has scored four of
the team’s seven power-play goals as well as UNH’s only
shorthanded goal.

Field hockey, NCAA first round game
(opponent & site announced Nov. 8, 8 pm)

Volleyball at Albany, 7 pm

Women’s basketball at Brown,
7:30 pm (season opener)

Saturday, November
12

Football at Towson, 3:30 pm

Men’s hockey at Vermont, 7
pm

Women’s swimming & diving
at Rhode Island, 1 pm

Women’s ice hockey at Boston
U., 3 pm

Men’s cross country at NCAA
Northeast Regional (at Buffalo, N.Y.)

Women’s cross country at NCAA
Northeast Regional (at Buffalo, N.Y.)

Sunday, November
13

Volleyball at Binghamton, 1 pm

Women’s ice hockey at
Providence, 2 pm

MEN’S
BASKETBALL

The UNH men’s basketball team, selected fifth in the
America East preseason poll, opens the 2011-12 season Friday, Nov.
11 at home against Suffolk. Opening tipoff at Lundholm Gym is 7
p.m.

WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL

The UNH women’s basketball team, picked sixth in the
America East preseason poll, tips off the 2011-12 season Friday,
Nov. 11 (7 p.m.) at Brown University.

MEN’S CROSS
COUNTRY

The UNH men’s cross country team did not race last week.
The Wildcats return to action Nov. 12 at the NCAA Northeast
Regional, which is being held at the University at Buffalo.

WOMEN’S CROSS
COUNTRY

The UNH women’s cross country team did not race last
week. The Wildcats return to action Nov. 12 at the NCAA Northeast
Regional, which is being held at the University at Buffalo.

FIELD HOCKEY (17-4 overall, 4-1
America East)

The 10th-ranked UNH field hockey team captured the
2011 America East Field Hockey Championship by defeating
13th-ranked University at Albany (1-0) in the semifinals
and 17th-ranked Boston University (4-2) in the title
game. It is the team’s second America East championship and
first since 1998.

UNH’s 17 victories ties the program single-season
benchmark established by the 1986 national runner-up team.

Prior to the start of the tournament, UNH received a total of
10 America East awards, including Coaching Staff of the Year (led
by 21st-year head coach Robin Balducci) and Offensive
Player of the Year (senior forward Whitney Frates;
Woodstock, Vt.).

Frates was joined on the America East All-Conference First Team
by Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md.) and
Kyle Lyons (White River Junction, Vt.). Three
Wildcats – Megan Bozek (Cortlandt Manor,
N.Y.), Kendall Deck (Bridgewater, N.J.) and
Katherine Nagengast (Westborough, Mass.) –
were named to the Second Team. Maegan Grew
(Hampton Falls, N.H.) and Kellie Joyce (South
Pomfret, Vt.) were All-Rookie Team honorees.

Rausch was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She
scored the game’s only goal in the semifinal win vs. Albany,
then recorded two goals and an assist in the championship game vs.
BU.

Rausch was joined on the All-Championship Team by Frates, Lyons
and Nagengast.

With her seven-point weekend, Rausch increased her season point
total to 58 to break the program’s single-season point record
that had stood since 1986 (Karen Geromini, 57 pts). She scored
career goal #50 with her last goal of the weekend.

Frates, with an assist on Rausch’s first of two goals vs.
BU, tied the program record for career assists. Becky Craigue
(1995-98) established the benchmark of 35.

FOOTBALL (7-2 overall, 5-1
CAA)

The UNH football team, ranked ninth in last week’s poll,
held 13th-ranked James Madison University scoreless for
the last three quarters of the game en route to a 28-10 victory at
Cowell Stadium.

The Wildcats are 22-3 at home since the start of the 2007
season.

Matt Evans (Hanover, Mass.), the CAA leader
(#2 in FCS) in tackles, spearheaded the defensive effort with 17
tackles, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Evans
climbed into the top 10 on UNH’s career tackles leaderboard
and is currently #10 with 293. He also ascended to #8 on the
single-season list with 123.

Dontra Peters (Annapolis, Md.) ran for two
touchdowns and a total of 87 yards on 16 carries.

Kevin Decker (Armonk, N.Y.) has either passed
or rushed for a TD every start of his career. He extended that
streak to 11 games with a 19-yard scoring pass to Sean
Cullen (Naples, Fla.) in the second quarter vs. JMU.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY (4-4-1
overall, 3-3-0 Hockey East)

The UNH men’s ice hockey team extended its unbeaten
streak to five games (4-0-1) and winning streak to four games with
last week’s Hockey East victories against UMass (7-3) and
Maine (3-2).

In the Nov. 4 win vs. UMass, 14 players tallied a point and
seven had multiple-point efforts. The 10 goals were scored by nine
different ‘Cats.

UNH has won each of the last nine games at the Whittemore
Center against Maine.

Nick Sorkin (Rockville, Md.) extended his
point-scoring streak to seven games with two assists vs. UMass
followed by a goal and an assist vs. Maine.

Grayson Downing (Abbottsford, British
Columbia) became the first Wildcat freshman to score a goal this
season with a tally against the Minuteman.

Matt Di Girolamo (Ambler, Pa.) is 4-0-0 the
last four games with a 2.00 GAA and .933 save percentage.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY (4-4-2
overall, 0-2-1 Hockey East)

The UNH women’s ice hockey team went 1-1-0 last week with
a 4-1 loss in Hockey East league play to Vermont and a 5-4 overtime
victory at intrastate rival Dartmouth College.

UNH was defeated at home by Vermont despite recording a 34-19
shot advantage vs. the Catamounts.

The Wildcats overcame a 3-1 deficit at Dartmouth to begin a
five-game road swing with a victory. Kayla Mork
(Victoria, Minn.), who recorded her first career point with an
assist vs. UVM, scored with 4:22 remaining in regulation to force
overtime and then set up the game-winning overtime goal.

Three other ‘Cats tallied multiple points at Dartmouth.
Emma Clark (East Barre, Vt.) netted two goals for
her first career multiple-point game, Bryanna
Farris (Carleton Place, Ontario) matched her personal best
of two assists (and two points) and Heather
Kashman (Edmonton, Alberta) finished with a goal and an
assist.

SWIMMING & DIVING (3-0 overall,
0-0 America East)

The UNH swimming & diving team competed against Central
Connecticut State and Bryant University in its home opener at
Swasey Pool on Nov. 5 and recorded two lopsided victories by
winning 14 of 16 events. The Wildcats defeated CCSU by a scored of
213-84 and was a 221-69 victor against Bryant.

Ellen Pelletier (West Hartford, Conn.) broke
the school record in the 1-meter dive with a winning score of
275.25 points. She also took the top spot in the 3-meter with a
mark of 230.30.

Shelli Reed (Hollister, Calif.) led the way
with three first-place finishes – the 100-yard freestyle
(52.14 seconds), 50 free (24.02) and 200 free (1:51.65). She also
anchored the winning 200 medley relay team.

Lauren McCandless (Macungie, Pa.) was the
first swimmer to touch the wall in both the 1000-yard freestyle
(10:24.72) and 200 butterfly (2:05.31). She also added a
second-place finish in the 500 free (5:07.66).

Katie Mann (Prince George, British Columbia),
who joined Reed on the top 200 medley relay team, claimed the top
spot in the 200 individual medley (2:07.26) and 100 breaststroke
(1:06.45).

VOLLEYBALL (9-18 overall, 7-3 America
East)

The UNH volleyball team split a pair of America East road
matches last week with a 3-2 victory against Stony Brook and a 3-0
loss to UMBC. Sunday’s win at Stony Brook secured a berth in
the America East Championship tournament; New Hampshire can finish
no lower than the No. 2 seed.

Morgan Thatcher (Brockton, Mass.) paced the
Wildcats at Stony Brook with 18 kills for a .368 hitting percentage
and also added three blocks. Amy Keding
(Northbrook, Ill.) had 17 kills and a .378 hitting percentage as
well as five digs and three blocks. Lauren
Laquerre (Concord, N.H.) finished with 16 kills and a .400
hitting percentage; she also had eight digs.

Thatcher provided one of the highlights at UMBC with a
team-high 12 kills and .550 hitting percentage. Keding contributed
10 kills, five digs and three service aces.

UNH concludes the 2011 regular season this weekend on the road
against Albany (Nov. 11) and Binghamton (Nov. 13).

2011-12 COMPLETED
SEASONS

MEN’S SOCCER (7-9-2 overall,
1-4-2 America East)

The UNH men’s soccer team wrapped up the 2011 season with
a 3-0 victory against intrastate rival Dartmouth College at Bremner
Field on Nov. 1.

Two Wildcats received America East All-Conference team honors.
Senior midfielder Brad Hilton (Merrimack, N.H.)
was selected to the Second Team for the third consecutive year,
while freshman goalkeeper Travis Worra (Lancaster,
Pa.) earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team.

Freshman midfielder Ryan McNamara (West Nyack,
N.Y.) recorded his first career multiple-goal game with two
tallies, and the four points marked the high by any Wildcat this
season. McNamara scored 3 minutes, 51 seconds apart.

Worra registered three saves to earn his fifth shutout of the
season.

WOMEN’S SOCCER (5-12-2 overall,
3-4-1 America East)

The fourth-seeded UNH women’s soccer team was ousted from
the America East tournament with a 1-0 loss to fifth-seeded
Binghamton University at Bremner Field on Oct. 27. The Wildcats
made a league-best 11th consecutive league tourney
appearance.

Monique Lamotte (Tampa, Fla.) was named to the
America East All-Conference First Team. Stephanie
Gilkenson (Cranston, R.I.) and Kelly
Mooney (Canton, Mass.) were Second Team selections and
Meghan Ledwith (Yardley, Pa.) was an All-Rookie
Team honoree.